CAF Champions League wrap, Wednesday 7 March

The 2018 CAF Champions League wrapped up its midweek action with 12 matches across the continent on Wednesday, 7 March.

The headline result was a 7-2 home win for title holders Wydad Casablanca of Morocco over Ivory Coast’s Williamsville, with the North Africans fighting back from the concession of an early away goal to claim an emphatic victory through a late hat-trick from Ismail El Haddad and strikes from Mohammed Aoulad, Amin Tighazaoui (two) and Mohamed Nahiri.

Fellow Moroccans Difaa El Jadidi completed the day’s action by beating DRC giants AS Vita 1-0 at home thanks to an early goal from Saimon Msuva.

The afternoon matches didn’t go well for Zambian duo Zesco United and Zanaco, who suffered home defeats at the hands of Ivorian giants ASEC Mimosas (1-0) and Swaziland’s Mbabane Swallows (2-1) respectively.

In Machakos, Kenya, hosts Gor Mahia held Tunisian heavyweights Esperance de Tunis to a goalless stalemate, while the East African derby between Ethiopia’s Saint George and Ugandan club KCCA also finished 0-0.

Confederation Cup champions TP Mazembe showed their class with a 4-0 home win over Mozambique’s UD Songo, while West African sides Aduana Stars (Ghana) and MFM (Nigeria) got the better of their Algerian opponents in home clashes, 1-0 against ES Setif and 2-1 against MC Alger respectively, and AS Togo Port beat Sudanese powerhouses Al Hilal 2-0 in Lome.

South African sides Bidvest Wits and Mamelodi Sundowns have left themselves work to do in their return games after losing 1-0 at Angola’s Primeiro de Agosto and drawing 0-0 at Rwanda’s Rayon Sports respectively.

The return leg matches are set for the weekend of March 16-18, with the 16 aggregate winners advancing into the group stage.